


City in the Rearview (And Nothing in the Distance)

by hybridempress



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Canon Compliant, Developing Relationship, F/F, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pining, Post-Canon, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24410311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybridempress/pseuds/hybridempress
Summary: Korra was not something Asami had planned on letting happen to her so much as Korra was a tidal wave that crashed into her suddenly, violently, and unexpectedly. She had not even realized she was drowning until she was pulled from the water so quickly she forgot how to breathe without it.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 14
Kudos: 114





	City in the Rearview (And Nothing in the Distance)

Korra was not something that Asami had planned on letting happen to her so much as she was a tidal wave that crashed into her suddenly, violently, and unexpectedly. Truth be told, she had not even realized she was drowning until she was pulled out of the water so quickly, she forgot how to breathe without it. It may very well have been an insensitive comparison, but living three years without Korra made Asami feel like she understood what it was like to have the air forcibly bended from her lungs. 

Still, it had taken her a while to put two and two together. For the prodigy daughter of a super genius, Asami realized that she could be incredibly stupid. She may have been able to surpass her father in the world of science and invention, but she’d failed to inherit her mother’s emotional intelligence. 

She hadn’t realized what it meant when she felt like sobbing every time she looked at Korra and saw that the light had disappeared from her eyes after her battle with Zaheer. She hadn’t realized what it meant when she cried herself to sleep knowing that there wasn’t anything she could do to bring that light back, even for a moment. She hadn’t realized why it felt like a rejection—a breakup, even—when she had offered to go to the South Pole with Korra, and Korra told her _no._

She hadn’t understood why her heart felt as if it was going to race out of her chest when she saw the first letter from Korra, or why she couldn’t stop crying while she read it, or why the heat had risen in her face when Korra said that she wanted these letters to be a secret between the two of them. That Asami was the only person she felt comfortable talking to. That out of everyone who had cared for her, protected her, guided her, and taught her, Asami was the one she trusted the most. 

She hadn’t been able to make sense of any of it until she took Korra’s hand as they walked into the spirit portal together. She wasn’t sure why it had clicked then. Maybe it was because the energy of the spirit world made her more in tune with her own feelings. Maybe it was because the light had finally returned to Korra’s eyes, and as they stared at each other in the light of the gateway, they were shining brighter than ever. But whatever the reason was, Asami finally realized beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was wholly, unequivocally, inescapably in love with Korra. And it terrified her. 

She didn’t know why the Spirit World had called to her so fiercely, or why she had suggested that she and Korra explore it together. She wasn’t a bender. She would never be able to connect with the spirits in the same way that benders would, and she didn’t know what she would get out of spending time in the Spirit World. But now that they were there, together, and had no idea when they would return to the Physical World, Asami couldn’t help but feel like she had made a mistake. 

Asami had made a lot of mistakes in her life, but she didn’t understand how she had let herself make this one. She didn’t think she could ever recover from it. How exactly does one recover from falling in love with the Avatar? How does one recover from falling in love with _Korra?_

That was a question she didn’t think even Mako had an answer to. She wouldn’t have asked him even if she thought he did, anyway. The more she thought about it, the more she began to understand that her jealousy of Mako and Korra’s past relationship, and even their friendship, had never really been aimed at Korra. She had dated him because, well, one thing had led to another and… but she had caught on fairly quickly that he was only dating her because she had asked him to. When they broke up the first time, she only felt jealous because she thought she was supposed to. But when Mako and Korra had been dating, her jealousy was very real, and it was very strong. She just didn’t realize that she wanted to be with Korra, and not with Mako. 

She didn’t think that he was over Korra yet. She didn’t know if he ever would be. He hadn’t dated or pursued anyone since he and Korra broke up. He hadn’t even tried to get back together with Asami. Honestly, Asami was grateful for that.

What would Mako think if Asami and Korra came back from the Spirit World in a relationship together? Would it make him angry, sad, or jealous? Would he be awkward around the two of them like he’d been after he and Korra broke up? Would it ruin their friendship? Would anything between the three of them ever be the same again?

Anything involving Mako’s feelings was under the assumption that Korra would ever feel the same way about Asami in the first place. That seemed like such an impossible dream that Asami wished she could wake up and laugh off how ridiculous her own feelings were. Korra had had her heart broken by Mako, been betrayed by people who were supposed to be her friends and family, had been hunted down and almost killed, and had taken over three years to recover enough to stand her ground as the Avatar again. She wouldn’t be ready to have a romantic relationship with anyone for a long time, and Asami would be idiotic and insensitive to think otherwise. 

But there were times when Asami dared to hope, just for a moment, that she had a chance. When Korra had brushed her thumb over Asami’s hand as they walked towards the portal together, Asami thought she had felt a spark. When she noticed the light had come back to Korra’s eyes as they stood in the gateway together, she got the vague sense that Korra was directing that light specifically at her. When they found themselves in frightening and unfamiliar areas of the Spirit World, Korra would take Asami’s hand and hold it with the same confidence that she had when she’d led Asami into the portal. When they were tired and needed to rest, Korra would lie by Asami’s side and listen to her talk about what she thought of the things they’d seen and experienced together that day, hanging off of her every word as if she were a professional storyteller. 

There were times like now, when the world around them was cold despite the burrow they’d found to sleep in together, and Korra had no qualms about stacking their makeshift blankets on top of each other and huddling under them together. Korra’s arms were around Asami’s waist and her face was pressed into Asami’s back. Asami was too anxious to breathe but knew that if she didn’t, Korra would surely hear her rapidly beating heart and know that something was wrong. She didn’t know how much longer she could live like this.

Just as she had feared, Korra must have sensed her discomfort. She woke from her very brief and light moment of sleep and mumbled groggily into Asami’s back, “...’Sami…? What’s wrong…?”

“It’s nothing,” Asami said just a little too quickly. “It’s just so cold out there, it’s really hard to sleep,” she added, trying to save herself.

“Come closer to me, then,” Korra said. She reached for the end of the blanket that was on Asami’s side and grabbed the edge of it, then pulled it closer to Asami and held Asami tighter.

“O-oh, okay—” Asami choked out. The air in the burrow no longer felt cold, and Asami felt like she was burning up. 

“Are you sure it’s just the cold, Asami? You seem really anxious. Is there something you want to talk about?” Korra asked. Asami could feel Korra’s lips twisting into a worried frown. Asami couldn’t stand that she was worrying Korra, but what could she do to stop it?

“I’m just… um… feeling a little homesick, you know?” she lied. 

“Well, we can go home at any time, you know. If you don’t want to be here anymore, then—”

“No, no, I want to be here! With you!” Asami blurted out. “It’s just—it’s different. It’s… hard, sometimes. Everything is amplified here, you know? I don’t always know how to deal with it.” 

Asami felt Korra’s lips turn into a smile against her back. “Is that all? Just trying to deal with your feelings?”

Asami frowned. “You say that like it’s nothing.”

“Of course it’s not nothing,” Korra assured, “but it’s something that you don’t have to go through alone. I love you, Asami. We came here together, and I think that we should fully experience this world together. Every part, and every feeling.”

Asami’s breath caught in her throat. “You… love me…?” 

“Of course I do,” Korra said. “You think I’d agree to go on an indefinite soul-searching vacation with just anyone? I wanted to be here with you, Asami.”

Asami felt the weight of both the Physical World and the Spiritual World slide off her shoulders. She’d spent so long worrying about her feelings, but she guessed she hadn’t really paid attention to Korra’s at all. It had been sitting in front of her all along. She’d just convinced herself not to read into it. 

“I… I love you too, Korra,” she said, finally letting go of the words she’d been keeping locked up for so long. “There’s no one else I’d rather be here with than you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I am six years late to this fandom yes I have korrasami brainrot don't laugh at me. 
> 
> I didn't have cable when LOK was originally airing and I didn't know that pirate websites were a thing, so I never watched LOK until just recently. I watched it for the first time with my girlfriend (who had already seen it) and finished watching it last week. It was incredible. I loved it so much. And now I can't wait to rewatch the original now that it's back on Netflix!
> 
> Anyways, a mutual on Twitter wanted to see me write Korrasami, so here we are! I'll admit that I haven't read any of the comics yet so I don't really know what all happens after the TV show, and I could be totally off base with everything I wrote, but who cares? 
> 
> The ending of LOK was so ambiguous, and even though it was a HUGE step for LGBT+ rep in family-friendly cartoons (and for LGBT rep that isn't a huge and offensive joke in any kind of cartoon) I know that a lot of people didn't believe that Korra and Asami were really together at the end of the show. So I kind of wanted to write something like Asami not knowing whether or not Korra loved her back? I like the idea of their relationship being unspoken, like neither one of them asked the other out or anything like that. It just kind of happened, and they both knew it, and it didn't really need to be said? But Asami has her doubts, and I wanted to write her kind of inner-monologue before Korra says something so simple and reassuring that Asami can't believe she ever doubted it in the first place.
> 
> Anyways, I had fun writing this! Hopefully I'll write more Korrasami in the future! And if you want to know more about how/when I take requests, you can follow me on Twitter @hybrid_empress or on Instagram @hybridempresscosplays !
> 
> Also, the title of this fic is inspired by "Next in Line" by Walk the Moon. I think that song really fits korrasami perfectly and I couldn't stop thinking about it while I wrote this fic. You should give it a listen!
> 
> Comments are also always appreciated! I would love to know what you guys think of this fic! Thanks so much!


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